GULF SHORES, Ala. – Junior Sarah Maloney dealt a no-hitter to No. 22 Missouri-St. Louis in her season debut and UWF took an 8-0 win over Tuskegee on the final day of the Gulf Coast Invitational on Sunday. UWF improved to 4-1 with the two wins and averaged more than eight runs per game over the weekend.
 
Maloney went five innings against UMSL, striking out nine and walking just two while holding the Tritons hitless. In UWF's second shutout of the day and third of the weekend, freshman Taylor Rolison pounded the zone against Tuskegee, striking out five, walking two and holding the Tigers to two hits in five innings of work.
 
The Argonaut offense was outstanding on Sunday, as the team hit .409, slugged .614 and walked seven times while tallying three home runs. Kathleen Smiley, Rhiannon Sassman and Tiona Hill each hit a round-tripper against UMSL, and freshman Baleigh Boltz helped lead the way against Tuskegee with a three-hit day.
 
Junior Meghan Toney, after a 1-for-3 day in the doubleheader, finished the weekend hitting a team-best .692 (9-for-13) with a .750 on-base percentage. Sassman hit .563 (9-for-16) and slugged 1.063, with nine RBI and 17 total bases in 16 at-bats. The pair led the team with 9 hits apiece.
 
Smiley tallied eight hits over the weekend, with two home runs and seven RBI to go along with her .471 average.
 
Game 1: West Florida 9, No. 22 Missouri-St. Louis 0
 
Maloney had a little trouble finding the zone early in the game, working 3-1 counts to the first two batters, who popped up and walked, before getting back-to-back 3-2 strikeouts to end the first inning. She settled in for the next two innings, however, getting a flyout and two strikeouts in the second and adding another punchout in the third.
 
It looked as though Missouri-St. Louis could threaten in the 4th, following a walk and a hit by pitch, but Maloney struck out the side and retired UMSL in order in the 5th to complete the no-hitter.
 
The Argonaut offense matched Maloney's dominance in the circle, as UWF came out with a five-run 1st inning to take control. Sassman drove a single into left centerfield, was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Meghan Toney and advanced to third on a passed ball before Jacey Castro singled to right field to score the first run.
 
Kathleen Smiley then brought in Castro and herself with a monster blast over the left-center field fence. The home run was Smiley's second of the year and the ninth of her UWF career. Smiley would later single to bring in UWF's eighth run of the game and give her three RBI on the day.
 
After a Callan Taylor walk, Tiona Hill put the UWF lead at 5-0 with her first home run at UWF, driving a long fly ball over left center. Hill singled in the 3rd to put her average at .545 for the year
 
Sassman added a home run of her own in the second, following a single from Caitlin Steel. It was the sophomore's second of three hits in the game and gave her three multi-hit games in four contests this year.
 
With the score at 8-0 in the fifth, Taylor provided what would be the last UWF run of the game with a fielder's choice that brought in pinch-runner Miranda Smith.
 
Maloney's 2016 debut also came against UMSL, exactly one year ago in this same tournament. She went 3.2 innings in that one, surrendering just two hits while striking out two.
 
Game 2: West Florida 8, Tuskegee 0
 
Rolison blanked TU after struggling to find the zone against Rollins and North Georgia yesterday. The Crestview, Florida, product turned a corner on Sunday afternoon, going the distance in the 8-0, five-inning win, and she threw 51 strikes in 84 pitches while picking up her first collegiate win.
 
West Florida wasted no time getting ahead of Tuskegee on Sunday, with Smiley singling up the middle and Callan Taylor bringing a runner in on a fielder's choice in the first inning.
 
With a 2-0 lead going into the second, Hill reached on an error to lead off the inning and Boltz singled to right center to put two runners on with no outs. Each of the pair scored on the same wild pitch with Caitlin Steel at the plate, as Hill came in on the pitch and Boltz quickly reacted to a throwing error from the catcher.
 
Freshman Jibrasha Moore, pinch-running for Taylor, came in to score on a fielder's choice from Hill in the 3rd and Boltz lined a single into center field to bring Hill home, giving UWF a 6-0 lead after three frames.
 
Rolison was perfect in the 3rd and 4th innings, retiring all six Tigers batters she faced, and UWF held a 6-0 lead going into the home half of the 4th. Miranda Smith recorded her first collegiate RBI in that inning, bringing home Sassman, and Boltz scored the walk-off run in the bottom of the 5th after a fielder's choice from Kara Wilson.
 
UWF heads to Columbus, Georgia, next weekend for the Cougar Classic, where the team will play Columbus State and Lander twice each. The tournament will begin on Saturday,